Self-Directed Learning Exploration

Thinkering Studio | Genius Hour | 20% Time | Etc.

This self-paced workshop can be done individually, but it has been written for small groups. It should take about X hours to complete. Of course, that depends on how much thought you put into it, how deep your group's conversations, and how many tangential activities you explore. You may have a staff development half-day, day or days to work on this topic, but it could just as easily be done after school in one hour chunks or asynchronously using a blog, wiki, or Moodle-like tool.

To Do:

• 
  
• RedoThinkering Studio is ... as a SlideShare?
• Add PSI link

Intro

1. Time to get to know your colleague(s) a little better. In pairs, interview each other to discover each other's interests and skills/strengths. These interests/skills can be ones used in school or outside of school. Below is a form we use in our Thinkering Studio class with each new set of students. You do not need to fill in every line and the last section is for later.
   • Thinkering Studio Brainstorm (pdf)
2. An alternative to this step would be to take a strengths explorer test. A good test along those lines for upper elementary to middle school students is the The Clifton Youth StrengthsExplorer

Facilitator Note

Focus Question

How do we get more kids like this?

1. As a whole group, watch a few of following videos
   • Apple Kids
   • Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show
   • More videos available in the __ section below
2. As a whole group, listen to Tony Wagner describe the 7 Skills students need for their future (30 min) or individually read Rigor Redefined or better yet, have half watch the video and half read the article.
   • As a group summarize the main points from the video or article. Facilitator Note
3. Optional - Do a book study of Wagner's Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World
4. Optional - Compare Wagner's recommended skills with other skill lists

Big Picture

How do others explain this?

1. Watch the RSA Animate version of Dan Pink's Drive or watch Dan's TED Talk
2. In small groups and then whole group, discuss when/how Purpose, Autonomy, and Mastery come into play in classrooms/school
3. Read through the Thinkering Studio is ... slides and then the description of Thinkering Studio
4. Big Picture Jigsaw
   • Divide into Jigsaw Groups of 4 and assign each member one set of resources
     • Experts 1 - John Seely Brown: Tinkering as a Mode of Knowledge Production (10 min)
     • Experts 2 -
       • Genius Hour Parent Letter
       • Tinkering School (4 min)
     • Experts 3 -
       • Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society
       • All I Really Need to Know (About Creative Thinking) I Learned (By Studying How Children Learn) in Kindergarten (if time)
     • Experts 4 - Makers: (divide into 2 subgroups)
       • Dale Dougherty: We are makers (half watch this one)
       • Making Makers (half watch this one) or the first 15 minutes of Every Child a Maker at World Maker Faire 2012 by AnnMarie Thomas
       • For later - Building Learning Keynote – Making the Case for Making in Schools
   • Individually, read/watch your resource(s)
   • In small Expert Groups with those who read/watched the same resource, discuss what big ideas or important elements were raised by your group's resource(s). Summarize your discussion in a comment on a blog post, wiki, or discussion board or even consider using a Google Form similar to this one, What points might be considered?
   • Regroup into your original Jigsaw Group and compare your summaries. Answer the questions, 1) What big ideas/elements seems to be common among these thinkers/doers? 2) What ideas/elements seem to be unique? Finally, using Wagner, Pink, Thinkering Studio, and the jigsaw resources, summarize what your group thinks are the Top 10 ideas/elements that should guide your class/classroom/project. Post these as drafts to a Google Doc, wiki, blog etc. so groups can compare their lists and comment on others.

---Note, links, etc. for next step

• Should this move into Papert now or later? What about the TS Commandments (Students & Teachers)?
  • Exercise could be a simple post or more creatively a set of slides similar to "Thinkering Studio is ..."
• Should these resources be added as optional at this point?
  • Genius Hour
    • Essence of Genius Hour
  • Self Directed Learning - The Self-Directed Learning Handbook
  • 20% Time (really 15% Time)
  • Big Picture Schools
  • SOLEs - Sugata Mitra
  • Student Led Blogging
  • Community Service
  • Eagle Scout Projects
  • Writing Workshop